Aberfeldy 15 Year
Aberfeldy was founded in 1896 by John Dewar & Sons and has long been a major staple of Dewar’s Blended Whiskies. Along with occasional releases of casks to the independent bottling market, the distillery offers a range of aged statement single malts. The Aberfeldy 15 is a series of limited edition releases, each featuring a different cask finish. The Aberfeldy 15 featured in this review was released in late 2023 (Batch 2923/A) and features finishing for six months in Sémillon wine casks, a sweet white wine from the Cadillac region of France, where a lot of Bordeauxs are found. Other editions have showcased finishing in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Bolgheri Red Wine Casks.
Distillery: Aberfeldy
Region: Highland
Age: 15 years
Strength: 43%
Price: $69.99
Maturation: Ex-Sémillon wine casks
Location: Aberfeldy
Nose: Grape, graham cracker, perfume
Palate: Sugar, apricot, floral, orange blossom
Finish: Tannic, perfume
Comments: Worth comparing side-by-side with other regular offerings, like the Aberfeldy 12.
Adam – The nose is a whisky cosplaying as wine, the grape sweetness luring you in with the punch of spirit simmers at the edges, ready to pounce on the unwary. The sweetness of fruit eventually fades into a floral cascade like a summertime revel. I dare you to enjoy the Aberfeldy 15 outside on a warm day in the sunshine. Definitely some tannins on the palate that present as slightly astringint but never enough to veer into unpleasant territory. For only six months in the finish, the white wine seems to provide a surprising amount of influence, though it expands on the core flavors rather than dominates them. An astounding price for a 15 year whisky, especially one that offers complexity along with a rarely-seen cask finish.
Henry – The finish provides an outsized influence. Floral overtones leading to a rich and complex wine influence, from must and a bit of yeast to sweet fruit. Palate is sweet, rich, and tannic, with a burst of perfume on the transition to the finish, which presents a lingering warmth, sweet and mouthwatering, with a present but not overbearing astringency.
This is super intentional, a philosophy about whisky-making. The difference between knowledge and wisdom.
Ben – Like a jam or jelly rolling over my tongue, with a great deal of sweetness. The finish betters what it came from. It’s the goal, without a moving goalpost. The Aberfeldy 15 is apt modeling for any distillery that has good product, to see what else they could do with a little cask finishing.
Bill – Much more bold on the nose, if less floral. I like the complexity. It plays, it dances. It’s not the same flavor from the beginning of the palate to the end of it, and the finish is long and drawn out. This is super intentional, a philosophy about whisky-making. The difference between knowledge and wisdom. The finish is a home run.
